Civil unrest. Reaction. Be it Politics or matters of race, immigration or inequality. People get angry and gather in protest.

"Each incident is on looked at on a case-by-case basis, but when folks are blocking a roadway in a protest, there are legal requirements to follow before we start taking action," Sacramento police spokesperson Ed Macaulay said, adding protesters are warned when they enter roadways.

The CHP also weighed in; since they are responsible for controlling our highways.

"We make every effort to keep protesters off of freeways because of the danger it poses to the public and the CHP works as quickly as it can [to] clear the lanes and protect the safety of the protesters and the motorists on the roadway," CHP South Sacramento spokesman Jim Young said.

If a major roadway is being blocked, police say they'll move the crowd away sooner than later, as opposed to a less traveled side street being occupied. Macaulay said in all situations, they want to quickly ensure the safety of motorists and get traffic diverted away from the protesters, as well as try to keep property and passers-by safe.

All of that, including how unruly the protestors might be, factors in on how long police will let protestors block a roadway.

"All of these things need to be taken into consideration, so it's the totality of the circumstances," Macaulay said.